Hunter's Heart (Alpha Pack #4)(12)
"Where? She's hurt all over." Desperate, he scanned for a good spot.
"Anywhere. Her wrist will do for now."
He'd been alone for so long, had never dreamed he'd find a mate. A wave of disappointment washed over him that it must happen here, like this, in front of his Pack brothers, as he fought for her life. Then he shoved down the self-pity. There would be time for intimacy later. He should be grateful fate had sent her into his world.
Gently, he lifted her good arm and brought her wrist to his lips. His fangs lengthened and his wolf growled in anticipation. Reining in his aggression and possessiveness wasn't easy, but he managed to sink his canines into the tender flesh without ripping or clamping down too hard.
Instantly, his tongue was flooded with ambrosia. He had a mere five seconds or so to marvel at the rush that quickened his pulse before his world detonated into a brilliant solar blast that almost knocked him backward. The thin light that had been threaded between them when she accepted his blood was anemic compared to this. A thick golden bond arced from his body to hers, crackling with electricity and then detonating like a supernova. His fangs slipped from her wrist and he felt himself fall backward, into a strong embrace.
"Gotcha," Jax said in his ear. "You okay?"
Was he? He blinked into the cloudless sky, taking stock. Nothing hurt. In fact, he'd never felt better in his life. Even the pain left over from the vampire attack seemed pushed so far into the background as to be almost nonexistent. All that remained was the fiery glow that spun between him and Daria.
"Yeah. I think so." With Jax's help, he sat up and studied the woman anxiously. "She looks better, doesn't she?"
"Her color has improved." Nick patted his shoulder. "You've given her a chance she didn't have before. Now get dressed before Jesse sees you naked and thinks something really kinky is going on."
"Would serve him right, the grouchy bastard." In spite of the seriousness of Daria's situation, he smiled a little. Sheriff Jesse Deveraux knew their main secret and had kept it well, even if he didn't much like it. Bastard or not, it was good to have a human ally in law enforcement.
Ryon almost felt sorry for the sheriff. Whatever was going on in the Shoshone, the man was going to have his hands full real quick.
Nudging Ryon aside, the medical team-minus Mac, who was forbidden by Kalen from descending the steep hill-went to work hooking up the biologist to an IV and a heart monitor. Melina and Noah straightened her broken arm as well, causing the woman to moan in agony even in her unconscious state, and making Ryon's wolf very unhappy again. But he kept a leash on the beast.
Once the arm was in a sling, Daria was declared fit for transport. Carefully, with Nick's and Jax's assistance, they transferred their patient to the basket, strapped her in, secured the basket to the pulley and ropes, and began to guide it up the incline. It was a long, tedious process that had them all sweating by the time they reached the top, and everyone was relieved to start the journey back to the Huey.
Ryon remained glued to her side as his friends carried the basket toward the trail. Her color did appear better. She was far from healed, but she would be. He couldn't wait to get to know this woman who had reached out to him, and in doing so, had set them on a path that would alter their destinies.
Would she be shy and kind? Or brash and loud? She worked alone, at one with the nature around her. She loved wolves. That had to be a positive sign, right? And she apparently treated herself to a bit of the hair of the dog once in a while-no pun intended. The recollection of the little bottle of whiskey made him smile. Getting to know her might be fun.
And maybe he wouldn't feel so alone anymore.
When they reached the clearing where they'd found the mutilated body, Ryon wasn't surprised to see the entire area crawling with park rangers, the county cops, the medical examiner's people, a crime scene unit, and Deveraux himself, standing tall among the ordered chaos, a thunderous expression on his rugged face.
"Westfall!" He strode toward Nick, a man on a mission. "Why is it that every single time things go to shit in my county, you and your band of misfits are smack in the middle of it?"
"Good to see you, too, Jesse. Hey, are you putting on weight? Don't worry. You carry it well."
"Don't f**k with me, friend. Not today." He jabbed a thumb in the general direction of the remains. "What do you know about this?"
"Not a damned thing, nor do I want to," Nick replied drily. "That's why I called you. I think you've either got a rogue grizzly, or a serial killer. Neither of which are my problem."
The sheriff's gaze went to Daria. "Yet this injured biologist is your problem? How does she fit in with the killing?"
"I don't think she does, except I'm speculating she found the body and something scared her into running. We're going to find out, though."
"Then I'll need to question her," Deveraux persisted. "You taking her to the hospital?"
"No, to the compound." Nick pinned the other man with a steely glare. "I need you to keep her whereabouts quiet."
"Goddamn." He blew out a breath. "As much as you f**k me up the ass, I ought to start keeping lube handy."
Nick fell silent for a few seconds, a faraway look in his eyes. Ryon recognized it, having witnessed it before, and no doubt so had the Pack members present. Their commander had "seen" an event, something vital to their future.